MichaelSmith

Entrepreneur

Mar.31

Daily users are up 10 million compared to February 2014; 33 percent share of sports category is more than Nos. 2, 3 and 4 properties combined; Nearly one third of ESPN’s unique users exclusively access content on smartphones and tablets. ESPN Digital Media reached 74.7 million unique visitors in the U.S. …

Mar.31

Premier League clubs are already desperate to secure one of the Champions League places, for the prestige as much as for the additional income. For Liverpool it could make the difference between a season that is viewed as successful and one that is not. The financial rewards are going to increase considerably next season

Mar.31

The £1 billion provided by the Premier League out of the new £5.14bn television deal for grassroots football, solidarity payments to lower leagues, help for the disadvantaged and other purposes has been generally welcomed by fan organisations. They have also welcomed the intention to make the Premier League a living wage organisation, although some doubts have been expressed about how this will apply to sub-contractors such as match day stewards. read more

Mar.31

When the takeover of Crystal Palace is completed as expected by the end of the season, it will become the fifth American owned club in the Premier League. At £90 million the price is higher, even allowing for inflation, than the £62m Randy Lerner paid for Aston Villa in 2006 or the £22m Ellis Short paid for Sunderland in 2009.

Mar.31

Football headlines have been dominated by the NFL concussion debates over the last few years. Lately, NFL players and the league have attempted to find out more about concussions and the long term effects that they have on players. One of the biggest recent stories to emerge is two former NFL players agreeing to posthumously donate their brains to find out more about head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Former NFL punter Steve Weatherford and former NFL wide receiver Sidney Rice have pledged to donate their brains once they pass. …

Mar.31

The following is a chance to help an aspiring Sports Management Professor acquire his degree. My name is Ryan Vooris and I am a PhD student in the Department of Sport Management at Indiana University. …

Mar.30

Twitter’s much-hyped launch of Periscope last week could lay the foundation for more sports fans to find different options to consume their regular sports programming offered on cable. On Saturday, the Seattle Reign FC, a member of the National Women’s Soccer League, streamed their pre-season match on Periscope. According to Reign FC owner Bill Predmore, Periscope was chosen over Meerkat, another similar video streaming app, for its ability to archive broadcasts and because of its deep integration with Twitter. …

Mar.30

Since its launch in late February, Meerkat has been enjoying tremendous viral growth and was the talk of SXSW 2015. Meerkat is a live video streaming app that directly links with Twitter accounts, allowing people to stream a live video to their followers. Everything that happens on Meerkat happens on Twitter, all at once. The possibilities of experiencing live events or interacting with some of the most famous stars in the world is what makes this app so exciting, which is why many are thinking of the endless ways it can transcend into the sports world where teams and players can engage with fans. Celebrities have quickly joined the Meerkat movement, such as comedian Jimmy Fallon who live streamed his Tonight’s Show monologue rehearsal, which drew up to 2,000 viewers in a matter of minutes…

Mar.30

McDonald’s All American Game, DICK’S Sporting Goods High School Nationals, Nike Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic All Feature ESPN 100 Players; Players in the espnW Hoop Girlz 100 Also Televised in McDonalds Game and DICK’S Nationals ESPN will showcase the next generation of college basketball players in premier events between Monday, March 31, and Friday, April 17, as the 2014-15 high school basketball season concludes. …

Mar.30

ESPN tennis analysts Mary Joe Fernandez and Brad Gilbert spoke with media today on a wide range of tennis topics. Currently, ESPN3 is providing live all-day coverage from the three main stadiums at the Miami Open presented by Itaú, with ESPN television joining for 25 hours starting Wednesday, April 1, through the weekend’s women’s and men’s championships. Soundbites: The struggles of Rafael Nadal, and his candid self-assessment: “Rafa has always been a very straightforward, honest individual. He doesn’t really mince his words, and what he feels, he pretty much lays it all out there. For him to come out, I think that’s what he is going through right now. …